Lobbying for minimal government and maximum freedom

2017 Legislative Session Recap

Before the 2017 Legislative Session began, Liberty Lobby LLC CEO Darryl W Perry began identifying bills of interest. This was initially done based solely on the titles of the Legislative Service Requests (LSRs), which are made public shortly after being filed. The text of the LSRs are then made available once the wording is finalized and has a signature from the sponsor. Not every LSR gets a bill number; a Representative or Senator can ask to withdraw the LSR. This often happens if there are multiple LSRs on the same topic with the same objective, or if the sponsor learns there is little chance of passage.

Of the LSRs marked as “of interest” by Liberty Lobby LLC, 39 were withdrawn before the text became available. Another 3 were withdrawn after the bill text became available, but before being assigned to a committee. Once committee hearing began in January, bills could not be withdrawn. However, the sponsor of SB82 (relative to labeling for maple syrup) requested the bill be deemed “Inexpedient to Legislate,” and the public hearing lasted less than one minute.

Relative to state party conventions; repealing the authorization for a political party to provide for an alternative to the statutory method of determining the date, call, and purpose of the state convention and selecting delegates.

KILLED (This bill would have put undue burden on the Libertarian Party, and would have required the Party to potentially seat non-members as delegates to the state convention.)

Relative to poker in private residences; allowing the playing of home poker games.

PASSED (Liberty Lobby LLC would like to see the phrase “in a private residence” expanded to allow the games to take place anywhere on the property, and not be confined to the inside portion of a residential dwelling – this is a good first step towards allowing regular people to play poker at home without fear of arrest.)

Relative to the definition of e-cigarette and the sale of tobacco products; changing the definition of e-cigarette to provide that the device may or may not contain nicotine.Including e-cigarettes in the definition of tobacco products for purposes of sale and licensure requirements.

Relative to eligibility to vote and relative to student identification cards.I. Requires certain institutions of higher learning to issue identification cards indicating whether a student is a New Hampshire resident.II. Modifies the definition of domicile for voting purposes.III. Eliminates election day voter registration, requires voter registration by 30 days before the election, and enacts provisions of the National Voter Registration Act.IV. Requires that a voter be registered as a member of a party prior to the date of the primary in order to be eligible to vote in that party’s primary.

Relative to delegates to national party conventions; prohibiting a party from seating delegates at the national party convention from this state that have not been apportioned in accordance with state law.

KILLED (This bill would have caused the Libertarian Party to either violate state law, or violate national party bylaws)

Relative to voter identification requirements when obtaining a ballot; repealing the authority of election officials to vouch for the identity of voters or to accept any photo identification they determine to be legitimate.

Relative to amendments to warrant articles; prohibiting the amendment of petitioned warrant articles; deleting the requirement that a petitioned warrant article include a notation of whether or not the article is recommended by the governing body or the budget committee.

Prohibiting a candidate from receiving the nomination of more than one party.

KILLED

Other legislative victories in the 2017 session that Liberty Lobby LLC were not directly involved with include:
Adoption of constitutional carry; Expansion of qualifying conditions under therapeutic use of cannabis (to include PTSD, chronic pain, and a removal of the requirement that an injury “significantly interferes with daily activities” in order to qualify for therapeutic cannabis); Repealing the commuters income tax; Making oral contraceptives available without a prescription; Prohibiting the inclusion of statewide assessment results in a student’s transcript without consent; and Limiting the use of cell site simulator devices by law enforcement agencies.

In total, we provided testimony on over 80 bills with several being retained until the 2018 Legislative Session. Of the Bills to come out of committee, we were successful in helping PASS 20 bills and were successful in helping KILL another 19 bills, for a total of 39 direct legislative successes in the 2017 session. These successes would not have been possible without your financial help, which allowed me to take time off from my regular job to read bills, prepare testimony, and travel to Concord to testify on bills, and meet with members of the General Court.

When Liberty Lobby LLC began 13 short months ago, we had one financial goal: acquire a mere $5,000 per year in contributions from people like you to help pay for travel and administrative expenses. In the first calendar year, we were only $214 from our goal, with most (56%) of our funding coming in the form of recurring contributions. That means each legislative success cost less than $125! If current funding patterns do not change, recurring contributions will help us reach 70.32% of our goal for the coming year. With your help, the 2018 Legislative Session will be just as successful, if not more so, both legislatively & financially.

While this is the off-season for the General Court, we are preparing for the 2018 Legislative Session’s filing periods in September (for the House) & October (for the Senate), with committee hearings picking up again in January.

Liberty Lobby LLC is not for hire to the highest bidder, and will advocate for 100% freedom on every issue, every time.
Specializing in:
Election Law (specifically: ballot access reform and voter rights), Freedom of Information/Government Transparency, Freedom of Speech, and Municipal & County Government.

The mission of Liberty Lobby LLC is to advocate for minimal government and maximum human freedom by weighing all legislation against the litmus of our principles and responding accordingly by testifying in legislative hearings, holding court with individual legislators, and crafting liberty-minded legislation.

Our goal is to acquire a mere $5,000 per year in contributions from people like you to help pay for travel and administrative expenses. If you are interested in helping fund Liberty Lobby LLC, you can start with a recurring contribution of as little as $5 a month. Every contribution helps bring us that much closer to achieving our goals and ensuring liberty in our lifetime.

Liberty Lobby LLC is not for hire to the highest bidder, and will advocate for 100% freedom on every issue, every time. Liberty Lobby LLC specializes in Election Law (specifically ballot access reform and voter rights), Freedom of Information / Government Transparency, Freedom of Speech, and Municipal & County Government.

Liberty Lobby LLC is not a 501(c)(x) institution. Funding for Liberty Lobby LLC comes from people like you who are enlisting the assistance of a liberty-minded organization to lobby the legislature on their behalf. Contributions are NOT tax-deductible.